>> you are watching the "journal" on dw-tv. our top stories at this hour -- one person is dead and dozens more injured after a car bomb explosion in central jerusalem. japan says infants are potentially at risk. his warning this potential radioactive contamination in tokyo's drinking water. and the death of a hollywood legend. actress liz taylor has died. israeli prime minister benjamin

netanyahu says the attack is responsible for wednesday's bus bombing will learn israel has an iron will to defend itself, and he promised an aggressive response. this after a huge blast in jerusalem killed one person and injured dozens of others, some of them seriously. police say the device was placed in a bag next to a bus shelter at the central city bus station. the bomb detonated near jerusalem's bus terminal, a busy part of the city. dozens of ambulances rushed to the scene with medics fearing the worst. >> there were no injuries on the bus. most of those wounded were in the station. perhaps the explosion was in the station because it appears there was no blast inside the bu it remained intact. >> the explosion was heard across the city. it is the first time since 2004 that israeli public transport

has been the public target of a bomb attack. officials have been scouring the scene of the blast looking for evidence that could lead them to the perpetrators. police have officially labeled the explosion a terrorist attack. >> after years of relative peace in israel, is there any indicati why this attack happens now after such a long time? >> certainly too early to say why it happened at this moment, but what you can see is people are looking around. heightened tensions between the south and. people have been called to stay in shelters. schools have been closed. on the other hand, increased attacks on the gaza strip, and civilians have been kill

the, so the are a lot of tensions already, and what you can say for sure is that this attack in jerusalem is that this will not make things easier or ease the tensions that are already here. >> what consequences are we likely to see in the wake of a blast? >> it certainly all depends who would claim response ability for this attack today in jerusalem. what you can hear tonight from mrs. in israel -- they are called already for harsh retaliation, said that is someing you might expect in the coming hours, depending on who is claiming responsibility. over the past days, called that there might be, because of these increased the tax, that there might be a new offensive on gossip. all this is a lot of talk. there are a lot of tensions. people on nervous, but it is a very volatile situation.

the palestinian city has harshly condemned this attack. >> thankou. britain says it will be hosting a summit in london next week. progress on the u.s. mandate intervention in libya. the u.s. military said there is no indication that coalition air strikes resulted in any civilian casualties. wednesday night, sites again or targeted in the capital of tripoli. bobby gaddafi -- gaddafi's tanks in israel were hit. schelling's have resumed. >> a propaganda war is also being waged in libya. brandishing, a presenter on libyan state television pledged to give his last breath for libyan leader gaddafi. state television also broadcast images of gaddafi's supporters

staging demonstrations and gaddafi himself making a brief public appearance for the first time in days. speaking from his compound, gaddafi pledged victo, denouncinghat he called the unjustified aggression of crusader nations. although the united nations- backed strike had forced his troops to retreat, battles are still waiting on the ground. rebels and regime forces are still fighting for control in eastern libya, where thehave been engaged in a standoff for days. the u.s. president says intervention would not end until it had entered the safety of the libyan people. >> unless he is willing to step down, there will still be potential threats toward the libyan people, and wwill contin touppo the efforts to support -- protect the libyan people. >> president obama expressed confidence the u.s. would say be able to step back from its lead role in the mission. nato leaders are deliberating in

muscles to decide on the extent of the reliances libelous in libya. >> they have been talking for three days now and still have not managed to sort out this command issue. what is the problem? >> it is becoming a bit a marathon here. sically, youave two camps. one led by the british believe that nato, as the military arm of western leader defense, should take the lead in an operational role, running military strategy, but one of the key players in this libyan assault says backed by turkey and germany, it opposes the idea that nato should be the lead player because they believe it would underline it -- undermine the support of the arab league. inste, they say to let nida have a technical, but they will run military strategy of cells. that is the deadlock.

that was expected to be both -- fix tonight. has not been. there are expected to be more talks. meanwhile, the president says americans want to pull back from a primary role. a stalemate, but nato will continue talking. >> are they going to be able to break the stalemate or keep talking for another week? >> excellent question. it inot clear at all spirit obviously, there is a lot of pressure on them to reach agreement because the fighting going on in libya already, and back in brussels, they have a classic situation, but it matters you sleep to france and britain how is perceived and who runs the show. right now, all we can say is there is a compromise. the idea is that foreign ministers of the nations involved in the fighting will actually have piticalonol

in a series of meetings starting next week. there will be a meeting chaired by the british foreign secretary in london to give political overview, political strategy to what is happening in libya. meanwhile, nato back here in brussels will be desperately struggling to work out with its primary physician should be -- operational, technical, humanitarian -- and i think it is embarrassing for western allies and frustrating for the americans. >> thank you. in germany has made itlear it will have thinto do with native of's involvement of a no- fly zone over libya and has pulled out of their operations in the mediterranean. but in a book aimed at helping libya, the cabinet approved plans to supply crews for nato surveillance aircraft over afghanistan. the reasoning there is that more german troops in afghanistan will allow nato to dedicate morr people to its libyan mission.

in syria, security forces have reportedly shot and killed at least 15 demonstrators. this according to eyewitnesses the. some of the protesters were gathered at a mosque that has been the focus of recent anti- government demonstrations. there have been protests for the past several days. demonstrators calling for an end to 1-party rule. the many present and has agreed to hold presidential elections by the end of this year. the move comes after weeks of anti-government protests in the arab states. on wednesday, several thousand demonstrators gathered in front of the city pure opposition supporters are demanding an end to the president goes a 32-year rule. at the same time, yemen's parliament approved a request to impose emergency law for 30 days. one of the workers struggling to prevent disaster at the fukushima nuclear power plant

was exposed to a high radiation dose that may increase the risk of cancer. the iea also sa increased levels of radioactive iodine and helium had been found in seawater near the plant. across the countries, fears about radiation in food and water are growing. >> it is drinking water from this plant that has been found to contain high levels of radioactive iodine, a major worry for parents with young children. >> radiation is going to be most likely increasing rather than decreasing. we need to put water away. >> people in tokyo far along and have been stockpiling bottled water from supermarkets across the sprawling mark mid -- mitropoulos, and there was little reason for cheer. sme waseen sing overreacted 3, its cause on known, but there were some programs. all reactors are now connected to the main's power, but

engineers have had to interrupt their work. at the leading the site due to the smoke and radiation levels. >> big day for portugal year. >> we just had word that portugal's parliament has rejected the wide-ranging deficit-cutting package proposed by the minority government. the measures were meant to make sure it did not have to tap into eu bailout funding. prime minister said he would step down if the package failed to pass, which would mean new elections at a time when portugal is trying to reduce its deficit from last year's figure of 7% of gross domestic product. antisocialist led minority government propose top. thfinance nister fought hard for support from the opposition.

>> it is my duty and responsibility to continue with these measures. i am certain they will help our country overcome the problems we face right now. the country must continue on this path. otherwise, we will not get out of the crisis, and we will gamble away our future. >> the only applause came from his party colleagues. other parties say they have had enough of these strict austerity measures and resentment has been growing among voters as well. many portuguese are afraid more cuts will plunge them into poverty. but the measures have resulted in some success -- portugal's budget deficit was 9.4% in 2009. in 2010, it dropped 7.3%. socialists hope to get it down to about 4.5% by the end of this year. now that the government has lost the vote in parliament, it is likely that portuguese bond yields could soar, forcing the country to apply for the eu

bailout fund. >> britain's finance minister has just presented the 2011 annual budget to parliament. even with the deficit reaching a record 10% of gdp, britain's conservative liberal democratic coalition is sticking to plans for a 1.3 billion euros tax break for low earners. >> the economic situation in britain looks grim. growth remains sluggish in the fourth quarter, and unemployment is at its highest level since 1994. at the same time, inflation in february was double what had previously been forecast. morale among its public sector workers is low after sweeping job cuts. >> the cuts are simply an ideological attack on the welfare state, and really, this government is using the banking crisis to do what it would have loved to do anyway. >> the chancellor of the

exchequer, as britain's finance minister is known, has already postponed a fuel tax hike. george osborn also wants to provide more support for first- time homebuyers, and 50,000 apprenticeships for young people. >> let's take a quick look at some of the market numbers now. we start first in frankfurt where it was green across the board today. the eurostock 50 at 2066. dutch industrial average trading at 12,086, and the bureau will get you $1.4109. -- the euro. some companies continue perform equally well in good years and in bad. the largest german arms producer had a good year last year. it posted 4 billion euros in revenue. profit came in at 174 million years. the global arms market is massive. swiss research institute estimates global volume of $--

of one trillion 200 billion euros. >> thanks, sarah appeared onle voting has begunor the annual deutsc welle blog competition. 187 have been short list across a range of categories. this year, a number of web sites from the arab world are in the running. there are also awards for the best social activism campaign and the best video of -- video log. the last of t hollywood davis is dead. dave elizabeth taylor and passed away on wednesday in los angeles -- game -- dame elizabeth taylor passed away on wednesday in los angeles the story of her life on-screen and off-screen was exceptional even by hollywood standards. >> only one actress was considered for the role of cleopatra.

elizabeth taylor at the height of her career, starring opposite the love of her life, richard burton. they married twice in a tempestuous and toward relationship, scandalous even by hollywood standards. by the late 1960's, taylor's best years as an actress were behind her, but she stayed in e spotlight with a weakness for alcohol, prescription drugs, and the trappings of luxury. in the 1980's, she emerged as a prominent activist in the fight against aids, but the superstar was plagued with health problems and was in and out of the hospital for much of her later life. taylor and critical raves with her intense performance in the tennessee williams classic "cat on a hot tin roof." >> thank you for keeping still. >> richard burton once said of her, "she looks at you with

those eyes, and your blood turns." elizabeth taylor -- one of hollywood's immortal -- has died at the age of 79. >> back right afterlobal ideas l

3000. >> welcome back. libya appears further away from a cease-fire than ever. the battle between rebel forces and troops loyal to muammar gaddafi in its fifth week. under the protective umbrella, rebeforces are tryin t organize. on wednesday, they formed an interim government, saying this is an important step to helping them freed the entire country, but gaddafi is as pleasant as ever. he swore on television tuesday that he and his loyalists will be victorious. we have this report on the influence that the leaders still enjoys. >> somehow, the libyan leader still manages to rally the

masses. he is trying to convince them that the world is on his side. around the world, people are demonstrating for our cause. in asia, africa, in america, and in europe, the people are on our side. those who were against us form a minority. it is hard to tell of these are just slogans, or if the libyan dictator has found renewed strength. international coalition claims successes and wants to destroy military installations in tripoli and rebels celebrating in been gauzy, little is known about who is now in control of which areas. the rebel national council has sometimes drop out of sight. experts like the italian libya observer are speculating who will eventually take over power from gaddafi. some names are being mentioned. even lesser-known ones.

at first, weexpected further defections by government officials and libyan ambassadors, but the wave of defections suddenly stopped. what could this mean? and many seem to be biding their time rebels meanwhile seem to be fully in control. on tuesday, gaddafi's forces were attacking. dozens of people are reported killed, and here, too, alice are launching air strikes on troops loyal to a tripoli. one future scenario is a libya divided into east and west with serious consequences for the entire region. >> if it ever comes to a petition, i am convinced that libya a a nation state would disappear from the picture. >> in the past, gaddafi has presented himself as a champion of a united arab world.

today, he is fighting for his own survival. the biggest risk now facing libya is a military stalemate, which could lead to years of civil war and no foreseeable end to the suffering of its people. >> the fact that there's already talk about a stalemate proves that the international community is worried that the no-flzone will not resolve the cflic on wednesday, kuwait, jordan, and turkey announced they will join qatar as muslim countries in a military alliance protecting libya. will this make a difference in public opinion about the middle east and the campaign? we have this report. >> two months after the judgment revolution held in the arab spring, people in tunis are celebrating their hard-won freedom, even if authorities are still keeping a watchful eye. so what did tunisian think about the military intervention in neighboring libya? >> i'm in favor of air strikes because i think there is no other solution.

>> gaddafi has taken tyranny over his people a step too far. >> the interference in libya is nothing other than colonialism. they just care about the oil. >> the arab league has been unusually united on the issue. the organization, whose members are so often at loggerheads, came out in favor of a no-fly zone. perhaps the sign-off gaddafi's and popularity among other arab leaders -- unpopularity among other arab leaders. but leaders in some countries fear a domino effect, such as algeria, where the president has already been forced to make major concessions to the opposition. or syria where protests recently flared against the regime of the president. could that fear also be behind the way for an attitude of the

arab league's leader? he came out in favor of a no-fly zone only to criticize the air strikes as too harsh and then declare a day later that he had been misunderstood. >> we will continue to work on protecting civilians, and insist that all take this into consideration in any military move and the protection of civilians will remain the issue that we all, the arab league and security council, agree on. >> what a fellow egyptians think? >> i do not mind. >> i'm not against intervention, but they shoulprotect the people and go home, not like in iraq. >> i am against foreign intervention in libya because innocent people are bound to become victims, to pusho -- too. gaddafi could use civilians as

human shields. >> the egyptian government has been reluctant to comment on the intervention, possibly out of concern for the many egyptian nationalsworking in libya. >> where does germany standnd the government is being criticized at home and abroad for not joining the coalition. germany has also pulled out of nato operations in the mediterranean and placed four navy ships back under german control. but in a move aimed at helping the coalition mission in libya, the cabinet in berlin approve plans to supplpl close for aircraft over afghanistan. them in the united nations security council passed resolution 1973 last friday. it calls for a no-fly zone over libya. of the u.s., france, and britain were among the powers voting for the resolution. germany abstained, along with china and russia. since then, the german

government has been at pains to persuade the international community that berlin is really for the measure. >> the majority of security council members voted for the resolution and so i made it clear that that makes it our resolution as well. and that we ao wa to see it implemented successfully. >> but there was criticism of the government's hesitance on thissue. even from within merkel's conservative party. >> it would have been better for us to have stood behind our nato partners. then there would have been no doubt about our position, and we still would not have had to have gotten involved militarily. >> the german foreign minister said the a reaction b calling foan embargo on oil to counterclaims that germany was in diplomatic isolation. >> as far as the military operation is conrned, we are not alone in maintaining a

skeptical stance. either on an international level, nor within europe. >> but many observers disagree. some say germany's wavering on the issue could damage the country's reputation as a reliable ally. >> we are the largest member of the european union and its strongest economy. afte the usa, with the second largest member of nato. we are not a dwarf state, but we are acting like one. >> social democrat leaders came out in support of the abstention, but the party is divided on the issue. most social democrat lawmakers disagree. >> i think it is shameful. an extension is not acceptable in decisions about tyrants. >> ironically, the government's staunchest support in parliament on the issue comes from the former communist left party, who are opposed to military action. a sign the government has sidelined itself on the issue of

libya. >> that has been our "in depth "at this hour. you're watching dw-tv. stay with us. u forget it. yourself, so don't fall.

u forget it. now he tells us. how far am i off the floor? about twelve inches. twelve whole inches?